Potato-separator



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PDTATO SEPARATDR.

(Appumion med oct; '1,l 1997.)

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www# T- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL F. UPDEGRAFF, OF IRWIN, 'PENNSYLVANIA POTATO-S EPARATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 615,325, datedDecember 6, 1898.

Application filed October '7, 1 8 9 7.

To all whom it may concern: j

Beit known thatl, DANIEL F. UPDEGRAFF, a citizen of the United-States, residing at Irwin, in the county, of Westmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Potato-Separator, of which the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to machines for cleaning and assorting potatoes and like vegetables, the principal object being the provision of a machine easy of operation, light and compact in its structural arrangement, comprising a minimum number of parts, and accessible for cleaning or any required purpose.

For a full understanding of the merits and advantages of the invention reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings and the following description.

The improvement is susceptible of various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction Without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof, and to a full disclosure of the invention au adaptation thereof is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View of a separator constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, the near side of the hopper and body being removed and the stanchions being in section. Fig. 3 is a section on the line X X of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 4 is a view of the machine as seen looking at the delivery end. Fig. 5 is a section on theline Y Y of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 6 is a section on the 'line Z Z of Fig. 2, viewed in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 7 is a transverse section of a side portion of the hopper on a larger scale.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in the several views of the accompanying drawings by the same reference characters.

The framework comprises end stanchions 1 and 2, similarly constructed and formed of bars or legs crossing between their ends and secured together at the point of crossing.

Longitudinal bars 3 connect corresponding legs below their point of crossing, and other bars 4 join the upper ends of the said legs.

Braces 5 are interposed between the upper Serial No. 654,456. (No model.)

and lower portions v*of the legs to stiifen and strengthen them and extend from the longitudinal bars 4 to the adjacent longitudinal bars 3 to form means of attachment therewith of the fabric 6, inclosing the upper portion of the frame and providing sides therefor, said fabric being secured at its upper edge to the bars 4, at its lower edge to the bars 3, and at its ends to the braces 5. The space inclosed by the sides 6 flares at its npper end and is contracted at its lower end to direct the potatoes or other articles into a suitable receptacle 7 placed beneath the separator for their reception.

A hopper 8 is provided at the receiving end of the separator and consists of upwardlydivergent sides 9, secured to the end portions of the bars 4 projecting beyond the stanchion 2, and an end piece l0. An arched bar 11 connects the upper ends of the legs forming the stanchon 2 and in conjunction with the braces 5 prevents spreading thereof. A grate 12 forms the bottom of the hopper and inclines downwardly toward its inner end and is composed of a series of longitudinally-disposed slats secured to transverse bars and is held in place by flexible strips 13 of fabric or like material, secured at their longitudinal edges to theV sides 9 and longitudinal edge portions of the grate 12. These flexible strips 13 admit ofthe grate 12 having a limited vertical movement and close the spaces formed between the sides of the hopperand the edges of the grate, so as to prevent potatoes or other matter lodging therein and interfering with the free verticall movements of the grate, which are essential to the proper feed'of the potatoes to the separating-barrel. By reason of the upward and outward inclination of the sides 9 it will be understood that when the grate 12 moves upward spaces will be formed between its longitudinal edges and the said sides 9, and should potatoes or other matter enter the spaces the grate would not be per mitted to return to its normal position, and to obviate this objection the flexible strips 13 have been provided and applied in the manner set forth.

The separating-barrel 14 is of polygonal form in cross-section and is composed of a series of slats or boards grouped about a central line and having their-*longitudinal edges IOO touching, the inner flattened sides serving to thoroughly agitate the potatoes when the barrel is in motion, thereby securing better results than if the interior of the barrel were circular. A ring 15 is at the receiving end of the barrel, and the adjacent ends of the slats are secured thereto, and a series of tappets 1G are applied to the outer face of the ring and consist of short strips obliquely disposed, so as to engage with a projection 17, pendent from the inner end of the grate 12, whereby the latter has a vertical reciprocatory movement imparted thereto at its inner end. A ring 1S is applied to the rear or delivery end of the barrel, and the contiguous ends of the slats are secured thereto, ,and a plate 19, arranged parallel with and at a short distance from the ring 18, is connected thereto by pins 20, the space between the parts 18 and 19 forming an egress for the potatoes or articles not passing through the perforations in the slats comprising the separating-barrel. This space is just large enough to admit of the discharge of the potatoes without permitting the barrel to become empty, which is of advantage in the separating process, as the potatoes are retained in the separator for a longer period of time, thereby insuring a thorough separation and cleaning. A disk 21 is applied to the outer face of the plate 19 and is of less diameter and constitutes a journal or rotating support for the delivery end of the barrel and rests in the crotch formed between the upper ends of the legs of the stanchion 1. The marginal portion of the plate 19 engages with the inner faces of the legs 1 and prevents voutward movement of the separating-barrel.

Rollers 22, journaled longitudinally between the upper ends of the legs 2 and bars 23, connected therewith, support the ring 15 and the receiving end of the barrel 14.,

rlhe separating-barrel l14 inclines downwardly toward its outer or delivery end ,whereby the potatoes or other articles to be separated are fed therethrough by gravity, and

this barrel is rotated in any convenient Way,l

and, as shown, a crank 24 is secured to a block applied to the disk 21. A vertical partition 25 is located at the delivery end of the barrel and beneath it and serves to separate the smaller potatoes from the larger, and an opening 26 is provided in a side of the body opposite the space formed in the rear of the partition 25, and a chute 27 ,extending across the lower end of this space, directs the larger potatoes through the side opening 26 into a receptacle 28 placed to receive the larger potatoes or articles as they escape from the machine. An inclined chute 29 is placed beneath the inner portion of the separatingbarrel and receives the potatoes dropping therefrom and directs them to a contracted space above the receptacle 7, thereby preventing the potatoes dropping from the upper or inner portion of the barrel onto the ground.

The potatoes or articles to be cleaned and separated are dumped into the hopper 8 upon the grate 12, and theaseparating-barrel is rotated at the required speed and imparts a j iggin g or vertical reciprocating movement to the inner end of the grate 12, whereby the potatoes are agitated and caused to enter the barrel, the smaller potatoes escaping through the openings in the sides thereof and the larger potatoes passing through the barrel and escaping through the space formed between the parts 18 and 19, as set forth herein.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. In a potato-separator, the combination of a iixed hopper, a grate constituting a movable bottom for the hopper and having a pendent projection at and beneath its delivery end, leXible strips connecting the edge portions of the grate with the sides of the hopper, a rotary separator-barrel disposed to receive the potatoes from the grate and having a flange extending around the exterior of the receiving end of the barrel and partly closing the discharge end of the hopper, and a series of strips obliquely disposed and secured to the face of the flange adjacent to the hopper and adapted to engage with the pendent projection of the grate and reciprocate the latter vertically as the separating-barrel is rotated, substantially as described for the purpose set forth.

2. 1n a potato-separator, the combination of an end stanchion composed of crossing bars, a hopper supported in the uppercrotch of one of the stanchions and provided with a movable bottom in the form of a grate, and a separating-barrel having an exterior circumferential Iiange provided at the receiving end of the barrel, rollers secured to the upper ends of the respective end stanchion forming a bearing for the receiving end of the barrel, and the other end of the barrel having a circumferential ange provided upon its outer face with a disk, said disk 'fitting in the crotch of the other stanchion and forming a journal for the discharge end of the barrel, and obliquely-disposed strips attached to the flange upon the receiving end of the barrel to engage with the movable bottom of the hopper, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a potato-separator, the combination of end stanchions formed of crossing legs, up per and lower longitudinal bars connecting .corresponding legs opposite their point of crossing, braces spanning the angles formed between crossing legs and extending from upn per to lower longitudinal bars, upwardly-divergent iieXible sides secured at their ends to the said braces and at their upper and lower` edges to the longitudinal bars, and a separating-barrel inclining downwardly toward its delivery end and rotatably mounted at its lower end in the upper crotch of a stanchion and at its upper end to the other stanchion opposite the crotch, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The herein-described separator for po IIO tatoes, comprising end stanchions formed ofcrossing legs, upper and lower longitudinal bars connecting corresponding legs of the stanchions, the upper bars projecting at one end beyond a stanchion, braces connecting the legs upon opposite sides of ,their pointof crossing and extending from the upper to the lower longitudinal bars, flexible sides secured to the braces and longitudinal bars, one of the sides having a discharge-opening at its lower rear end, a chute extending transversely from the opposite side to the lower portion of the said discharge-opening, a vertical partition at the inner side of the chute, a hopper at one end of the separator and secured to the projecting ends of the upper longitudinal bars, a grate forming a, bottom to the hopper and connected thereto at its edges by flexible strips, a separating-barrel journaled at its ends to the stanchions, a chute beneath the inner portion of the barrel, and tappets applied to the upper end of the separating-bar- 

